2000
#1,334
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,301
First available Census row
Per 100,000 9.01
Uncommon Last name
Greenwood
An English toponymic surname denoting someone who lived near a forest or wooded area.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 27,597 Americans carry the last name Greenwood. That puts it at #1,441 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 8.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 12,420 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Greenwood surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Greenwood with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
28K
1 in 12,420
Census rank
#1,441
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
8.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
24K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 24,066 bearers of the surname Greenwood in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 8.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1441st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Greenwood, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.5%. The next largest groups are Black (13.4%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Greenwood
The surname Greenwood is of English origin, originating in the 13th century. It is a topographic name, derived from the Old English words "grene" meaning green and "wudu" meaning wood, referring to someone who lived near or in a green wood or forest.
The name is found in early records such as the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where it appears as "de Grenewode" and "de Grenewode". It is also recorded in the Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire from 1379, as "del Grenewode".
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was John de Grenewode, who is mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Staffordshire in 1327. Another early bearer was Thomas de Grenewode, recorded in the Feet of Fines for Yorkshire in 1348.
The name is also associated with several place names in England, such as Greenwood in Lancashire and Greenwood in Nottinghamshire. These place names may have influenced the development and spread of the surname.
Notable individuals with the surname Greenwood throughout history include:
1. John Greenwood (c. 1555-1593), an English Puritan minister and writer who was executed for his beliefs during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
2. Thomas Greenwood (1638-1694), an English nonconformist minister and author.
3. Miles Greenwood (1807-1855), an English mechanical engineer and inventor who developed the Greenwood Stretcher, a device used in the textile industry.
4. Alfred Greenwood (1847-1927), an English journalist and editor of the Pall Mall Gazette.
5. Walter Greenwood (1903-1974), an English novelist best known for his novel "Love on the Dole", which depicted the harsh realities of life in the Great Depression.
While the surname Greenwood is predominantly English in origin, it has also been adopted by families in other countries, particularly in the United States and Canada, due to migration and immigration patterns over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Greenwood
Among Census respondents with the surname Greenwood, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.5%. The next largest groups are Black (13.4%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Greenwood bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Greenwood surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.5% · 18,641
- Black or African American13.4% · 3,223
- Two or more races4.1% · 976
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 868
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 190
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 168
Timeline
Historical Census data for Greenwood
Greenwood appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#1,422
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,971
+670 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 8.47
Rank movement Down 88 places
2020
#1,441
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,066
-905 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 8.05
Rank movement Down 19 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,334 | 24,301 | 9.01 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,422 | 24,971 | 8.47 | +670 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 88 places |
| 2020 | #1,441 | 24,066 | 8.05 | -905 bearers (-3.6%) | Down 19 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Greenwood surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,422 | #1,441 | -1.3% |
| Count | 24,971 | 24,066 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 8.47 | 8.05 | -4.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Greenwood bearers went from 24,971 to 24,066 (-3.6% change). The surname moved down 19 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,422 to #1,441.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Greenwood
FAQ
Greenwood surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Greenwood?
Name Census estimates that about 27,597 living Americans carry the surname Greenwood. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 12,420 residents.
How common is Greenwood?
Greenwood ranks #1,441 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 8.05 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 24,066 people with the surname Greenwood. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (27,597), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 8.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 8.05 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Greenwood.
Has Greenwood become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Greenwood went from 24,971 recorded bearers to 24,066. That is a decrease of 905 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,422 to #1,441.
What does the Census say about the background of Greenwood?
Among Census respondents with the surname Greenwood, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.5%. The next largest groups are Black (13.4%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Greenwood in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.5% (18,641 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Greenwood appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.5%), Black (13.4%), Two or More Races (4.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Greenwood (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Greenwood mean?
An English toponymic surname denoting someone who lived near a forest or wooded area. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Greenwood (8.05 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Greenwood?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.